Join us in a calm and structured environment and share with us about your autistic experience while enjoying something nice treats from the Dome. This is a timed sharing event with prompt questions to help you capture your thoughts. There is no obligation to share and you are welcome to just listen. We ask you to not comment or ask questions during the time that others are speaking. We are In the the private room with the folding doors next to the elevated section within the Dome, I will put a SAGE sign up for visibility. When you order tell the cashier we are in the private room, our booking starts at 600pm but I’m usually early. -=Timeline=- 1800 access venue 1810 Meeting begins, 2015 meeting ends 2030 leave room -=Event Topic=- **6: Advocating For Yourself and Others** When we are distressed our thoughts and feelings can be hard to capture and articulate. It’s best to prepare well before you speak up for yourself, if that’s possible. When you are advocating for yourself or another you may have to be very open about autism, this can lead to understanding and positive experiences, and occasionally bad ones too. It’s good to rehearse. you may need to really reveal the distress you feel so that people truly understand it. Autism is a brave thing to talk about, so prepare and be proud of yourself. Do you have the energy and focus to advocate for yourself alone or do you need help? What would you want an employer to understand about you? How well do you understand your needs? How capable are you of being vulnerable and articulate when under stress? **7: Structure, Routine, and Discipline** Structure and routine are wonderful, predictable, and safe. It can take time to build health routines in our life, but they can be easily lost when our lives become hectic. It’s best to be realistic with our routines so that we may more likely sustain them. Are you happy with your level of self-care? Are you able to keep to disciplines and routines that are good for you? How do you handle chaos? Are your routines resilient, or easily lost? Do you set disciplines and routines that are sustainable and realistic? Give an example of good, structure, routine, or discipline. Hope to see you there 🙂 -== About SAGE ==- SAGE is a social group for people who identify as being on the autistic spectrum. You do not need a formal diagnosis to come along to events and support people are welcome. Our core values are respect, acceptance, and community, and by holding to these values we aim to create a friendly and safe place for members to relate to others and have some fun. New members are always welcome and we understand that it can take courage to attend events if you don’t get out often. Feel free to message event hosts for details or assurance. We want to meet you. We want all our events be psychological safe spaces and do not tolerate aggressive or inappropriate behavior. SAGE is entirely volunteer operated and was established in February 2020. If you would like to support SAGE donations are welcome at: https://gofund.me/187847a2